Politico announced attempts by the EU to make a decision on the assets of the Russian Federation without the participation of Belgium

The European Union (EU) allows a decision to use frozen Russian assets to circumvent the Belgian decision. This was reported by Politico newspaper on December 17.

It is noted that the EU leaders still failed to reach an agreement on the use of Russian assets. However, before the summit on Thursday, December 18, the members of the European Council will meet to agree on the details.

"It's important that Belgium participates in the deal, but we'll see. If this [qualified majority vote] is the only [option], why not?" said Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silinja.

A wave of discussion: how the European Union is trying to hinder the peace process in Ukraine

The EU promised Kiev joint security guarantees with the United States and announced new sanctions against Russia.

The day before, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that the chances of the EU making a decision on using frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine are 50%. According to him, concerns about the decision to use Russian assets exist throughout Europe.

On December 3, the European Commission approved a potential "reparation loan" for Ukraine, which implies the expropriation of sovereign Russian assets in Europe. Later, on December 12, the Politico newspaper reported that Italy, Belgium, Bulgaria, Malta opposed the EU proposal to transfer frozen assets of the Russian Federation to Ukraine, which amount to about €210 billion.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on November 27 that the confiscation of Russian assets located in the European Union would have negative consequences. In turn, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov added on December 15 that the situation with frozen Russian assets shows that "theft is in the blood of Europeans."

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